FARM CROPS. 147 



BARLEY. 



The barley plant has much the same appearance 

 and habit of growth as wheat. The head or spike 

 differs, however, and the general height of the plant 

 is less. It is the most shallow rooted of any of the 

 four cereals discussed, and although the roots usually 

 grow with remarkable rapidity they are neither vig- 

 orous nor long lived. The barley spike varies more 

 than the spike of wheat or rye. At each joint of the 

 rachis there may be one, two or three spikelets de- 

 pending upon the type of barley produced; with one 

 spikelet at each joint the barley would be known as 

 two-rowed; if two spikelets are present it becomes 

 four-rowed, and if three are found, it is six-rowed 

 barley. We have therefore barley with a thin flat- 

 tened spike or with a spike that is rather square and 

 compact. 



Barley is further characterized by being almost uni- 

 versally bearded. By this is meant that the flowering 

 glume is prolonged into a stiff awn, which often 

 reaches a length of six or more inches. This char- 

 acteristic renders barley a disagreeable crop to handle, 

 since these beards readily break off, and because of 

 their sharp points and barbed edges work through the 

 clothing, greatly to the annoyance of those handling 

 the crop. Because of this undesirable feature, there 

 has been considerable attention given to the produc- 

 tion of a barley free from these annoying beards. 

 Until recently there has seemingly been nothing of 

 sufficient merit yet developed to claim any great atten- 

 tion. The United States Department of Agriculture 

 has, however, recently succeeded in producing a true 

 beardless barley that promises to supersede the awned 

 sorts. The Agronomist in charge of Barley Inves- 

 tigations reports: 'This office has succeeded in 

 produsing a winter barley without awns which is 

 entirely distinct from the beardless barley now culti- 

 vated. This new variety is a selection from a large 



